Year after year, rail passengers are flabbergasted by unreasonable fare rises. While other industries have reacted to the economic climate by showing restraint and reducing prices, the rail industry continues to impose above-inflation price rises.

Passenger Focus talks to more than 52,000 passengers every year for our National Passenger Survey. Passengers are consistently unhappy with the price of fares and in our most recent survey only 46% of passengers thought the fares represented value for money.

The government asked us to explore passenger concerns in more depth, comparing British fares and service levels with those in Europe. We found that while punctuality, overcrowding and delays added to passenger dissatisfaction with a train service, ticket price remained a key factor.

There are some good deals to be had, especially for passengers travelling long distances who are able to book in advance and are willing to travel at a specific time. Our study found that a long-distance ticket to London bought at the cheapest possible "buy in advance, one train only" price, can cost less than a ticket on the continent travelling a comparative distance to a major city. But if a passenger has to travel at short notice or can't be sure which train they'll need to catch, they are likely to pay more to make a journey to the capital than other Europeans.

We have some of the most frequent train services in Europe, especially between London and Birmingham or Manchester, but the ticketing system makes it hard to benefit from that frequency. The industry should advertise the cheapest "buy-on-the-day" return fare at the station to reassure passengers they're getting the best deal available.

Passenger Focus is also lobbying for greater transparency on advance fares: we should know whether tickets for a particular train have yet to be released or have sold out, rather than having to check websites constantly in the hope that a deal might become available.

There should also be more flexibility when passengers miss their booked train - the money they've already paid should count towards a new ticket.

In the longer-term, we need a fundamental review of the long-distance fares structure to create a system that passengers can understand and trust.

Commuters, in particular, feel they receive poor value for money. Commuting from Liverpool or Preston into Manchester, for example, is around twice as expensive as an equivalent journey into Paris. Passengers should be able to spread the cost of an annual season ticket with monthly payments and there should also be a carnet ticket for commuters who do not follow the traditional five-day-a-week pattern of travelling.

The industry must be reasonable if it wants to maintain passenger numbers in these tough economic times.

Since its privatisation in 1995, Britain's railway has become one of the fastest growing in Europe, with more than a billion journeys made in 2008. This simply would not have happened if we had unreasonably high rail fares.

Public satisfaction with rail is actually at its highest level ever. The most recent National Passenger Survey showed 83% of passengers were happy with their journeys - not surprising given that trains are also more punctual than ever.

While Passenger Focus's own research, published in February, showed that the majority of commuters and more than 70% of long-distance passengers believed their journey represented value for money.

So why all the recent media headlines talking about big fare prices? These stories tend to focus on the highest priced tickets, which allow people to travel any time they like. Though most passengers know they can get a good deal on fares, particularly if they book ahead or travel off peak. Eight out of 10 passengers travel on some form of discounted ticket. While fare changes will always attract media coverage, it is also important to remember that more than 60% of fares are regulated by the government.

Train operators work hard to deliver what passengers want, and this includes a range of fare deals. In 1996 the cheapest advance single fare between London and Manchester was £18.50, today it is £8. London to York was £35, it is now £13, Bristol to Birmingham was £20 and is now £7.

In the past, the fare structure was criticised for being too complicated. So last year we simplified the system.

Of course everyone would like ticket prices to come down across the board but this is unlikely as government policy is committed to shifting the cost of the railway from the taxpayer to the people who use it.

Value for money for our passengers isn't just about fare prices, but also speed and comfort. As an industry we have invested heavily in new and refurbished rolling stock. The west coast route modernisation has cut journeys from London to Manchester to just over two hours. Satisfaction levels with stations have steadily improved over the last five years.

But train companies are not complacent. Passengers will naturally always want better value for money, but also better punctuality and reliability, a seat for their journey, clear information during disruptions as well as higher frequency and speed, the best possible on-board experience and more accessible stations.

That is why, as an industry, we are committed to delivering an even better railway over the next five years. We will also see more capacity with 1,300 new carriages to help cut overcrowding. Rail travel already offers good value for money to our passengers, but it's going to get even better in the coming years.